Thai share prices closed 0.90 percent lower on Friday in line with a drop on Wall Street as investors remained jittery over higher US interest rates, dealers said. They said foreign investors led selling as key regional markets in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore tumbled on the falling US market.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index fell 6.83 points to 752.00, while the blue chip SET 50 index declined 5.81 points to 532.16. Losers outnumbered gainers 242 to 111, with 115 stocks unchanged on turnover of 3.2 billion shares worth 15.4 billion baht (446 million dollars).
The Thai baht traded flat against the dollar, closing at a nine-year high of 34.59-60. Against the euro, the Thai currency finished at 46.20-25 from Thursday's 46.65-70. "The market fell on external factors such as a fall in the US market and a weak regional market," said Sukit Udomsirikul, a senior market analyst at Siam City Securities.
Asian stocks tumbled Friday following a plunge on Wall Street on Thursday as investors were worried over rising US inflation. Thailand's top energy firm PTT dropped 6.00 baht to 264.00 while its unit PTT Exploration and Production was flat at 105.00.
The kingdom's top lender Bangkok Bank fell 1.00 to 115.00 and the third largest lender Kasikorn Bank lost 1.00 to 69.50. Thai Airways International slipped 0.25 to 44.25 and Thailand's largest mobile phone operator, Advanced Info Service, fell 3.00 to 87.00.